Dreaming of the Past
by Forefront
Summary: When her dreams make her curious, and she can't get these thoughts out of her head, what will Nami do? LuNa in the rain.


Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, or the characters.

DREAMING OF THE PAST

"I'm gonna kill you Luffy!" Nami screamed as she chased her childish Captain around the deck for the tenth time.

"I'll get him for you Nami-swaaan!" Sanji called heroically as he leaped from the top of the Thousand Sunny's cabin. "Give it back you idiot!"

"Shishishi." Luffy chuckled. "This is fun. What's so important about this thing anyway Nami?" He asked as he grabbed the top of the mast with an extremely outstretched arm, just evading Sanji's grasp.

"It's my diary you idiot! Don't you know what a diary is?"

"Is there food in it?" Luffy asked, holding it by the corner with his thumb and index finger.

"No you idiot, it's a book!" Nami yelled as she attempted to scale the mast.

"Wha?" Luffy said in confusion. "Why would you lock a book? Well, here you go; I don't really like to read." He tossed the diary onto the deck of the ship. Sanji dove off the mast to retrieve it, but was met by a punch in the face from Nami who never was able to scale the structure. She picked up her diary and headed to the women's quarters to lock it away in a new hiding place.

'Jeez,' she thought. 'He can be such a stupid jerk.' She had finally found a place to keep her diary hidden from the boys, and sat down on her bed. It wasn't late by any means. In fact, it wasn't even dinner time yet, but for some reason, all the day's stress was wearing on her. She laid back and closed her eyes, letting sleep quickly overcome her.

She screamed. It was all she could do to express her rage as she repeatedly stabbed at the mark on her shoulder, in a desperate attempt to remove herself from an eight year long torment. A hand grasped hers firmly. She struggled but couldn't plunge the blade in again. She looked up and saw him. The young man who seemed to live without fear; without regret. She hated him. She hated him for being so carefree and happy. Why couldn't she be that way?

"Leave!" She screamed at him before continuing her tears. After a moment, she realized that he wouldn't go. For some reason, he stood by, hand on her shoulder as she cried into her hands. She turned to him when she could finally take no more by herself.

"Luffy, help me." He placed his straw hat on her head, and knelt down behind her. He wrapped his arms around her, gently resting his cheek against hers.

"Okay." He whispered.

Nami stretched as she sat up out of bed.

'What was that?' She asked herself. "What's wrong with me?"

"I don't know." Nami turned, startled at the voice. She turned to see Robin sitting, brushing her hair. "You kept saying Captain-san's name in your sleep."

"I…" Nami struggled for words to explain.

"Don't worry, I won't say anything." Robin smiled. The older woman was at least someone Nami could trust. She didn't want to think what kind of drama that a dream like that could cause on this ship. She got out of bed, and looked at the clock. It was ten in the morning. She had slept through dinner, and breakfast, but it didn't matter really, she only wanted to clear her head. She took a shower, and got dressed, but couldn't get that dream out of her mind. Deciding that she would start her next map out in the sun, she walked through the galley seeing Sanji at the counter probably preparing lunch.

"Nami-swan! Good morning, would you like a snack before lunch? You haven't eaten in awhile." Sanji noted with hearts in his eyes. Nami usually didn't bother with him when he did this, but she needed to take her mind off things. Maybe this was her chance.

"Umm, I'm not really hungry, but I could go for something to drink…"

"Right away Nami-swan!" Sanji cut her off and almost dove into the fridge for some ingredients for whatever it was that he was going to make.

'Maybe it's not such a good idea. It wouldn't be good to use him to make myself feel better, even if he would enjoy it.' She giggled softly to herself at the comedy that was Sanji's unrequited love for all the women he met. He ran over and handed a glass to her. She tasted the drink, and was not surprised by its extraordinary taste. Sanji was always sweet. Even if he constantly took it too far and tried too often, the thought was nice and always made Nami feel special. She took her drink and headed for the main deck.

"Aah!" She shouted as she opened the door and got sprayed by hundreds of big raindrops. She slammed the door shut before she got soaked, and turned around. "Aagh!" She exclaimed in frustration as she stomped her way through the galley, slamming her full drink on the table as she left.

She spent the rest of the day extraordinarily bored. She couldn't work on her maps, or look through her accounting logs, or anything that she normally did to occupy her time. All she did, all rainy day, was think about Luffy. She laid on her bed and thought about him. She pulled out some paper, and instead of a map, she drew a picture of his face, smile as wide as could be. Everything she did that day revolved around the thought of her Captain.

'I… like him?' She asked herself finally, knowing the question was already answered. She had been trying to convince herself otherwise for awhile, and had found it utterly useless. The question was no longer whether or not she liked him. Now it was, 'What do I do about it?' She got up from her desk, and made her way out to the galley.

"Nami-swan…" Sanji called.

"I'm sorry Sanji, but I need to speak with Luffy right now. Have you seen him anywhere?" Sanji stood against the wall. He lit a cigarette and took a couple of puffs before grasping it between two fingers and removing it from his lips to speak. "Hmm, I saw him at lunch and dinner, but not for the rest of the day. I'm not sure where he is."

"You'd think that he would be hard to lose." Nami said as she went to search the ship. She looked everywhere she could think. She checked the men's quarters, the bathrooms, the closets, even in the fridge, as Sanji had found him sleeping inside it a few nights ago. She stopped in the middle of the passageway to think.

'Well, I guess he could be there. I wouldn't put it past him to do something that strange.' She walked through the galley, grabbing an umbrella from beside the door, and headed out onto the deck. The rain was coming down hard and heavy. The sea was calm, and there was no wind, but nevertheless, the rain poured. She looked around and didn't see anything at first. Then, she made her way to the aft deck. 'No way!?' She thought as she spied Zoro asleep in the downpour. However, it was not Zoro that she needed to find. She looked up toward the crow's nest and saw Usopp perched on watch with an umbrella. It seemed hopeless, and she turned to walk back inside. As she did, she spotted a familiar figure sitting cross-legged on top of the cabin, drenched, and smiling that same wide smile that always seemed to make the world into a giant playground.

"Nami! Hey what's up?" Luffy said as he waved to her, feet dangling from the cabin roof. He smiled again. Such a big, toothy grin, that made the deck of the Thousand Sunny seem like the happiest place in the world.

"Hey Luffy, um… what are you doing out here?" She inquired. Luffy turned his face toward the sky and closed his eyes, letting the rain bounce off his already dripping face. He sat like that for a few seconds before looking back at Nami and smiling again.

"The rain is warm. It feels really good!" He exclaimed innocently. Nami stuck her hand out to test the temperature of the water, and realized that it was in fact, very warm. "You should sit in the rain with me." He extended his invitation by patting the space next to him and holding out his hand to help her up. She had no intention of ditching the umbrella, but didn't want to miss an opportunity to speak with him alone. Not tonight, because she had something important to ask him. She took his hand and placed her foot on the wall. He grabbed her umbrella with his free hand, holding it over her as she climbed up.

"Thanks." She said as she took the umbrella back. She realized that her butt was getting wet from her new seat, but decided that it was too late. "So, how long have you been out here?" She asked, attempting to break the ice.

"All day. Except for lunch and dinner of course." He replied absently.

"What have you been doing out here?"

"Thinking." Nami was surprised by his answer. She had expected him to say something childish. Luffy had his moments, but she never took him for the type of person to sit and relish in his thoughts for any extended period of time.

"About what?" She asked after a short silence.

"All kinds of stuff." He said, still looking off into space. He seemed to still be engulfed by whatever thoughts those were.

"Oh…" She wasn't sure what to say next, but found that she didn't have to think about it long. It was now or never, and she knew that she couldn't live with never. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shishishi, sure. What is it?" He seemed genuinely interested and sincere in his response, even though he continued to look to the sky. Nami felt a lump in her throat, but swallowed it hard as she readied her question.

"Why…" She stumbled on the words. "Why did you choose me, as your nakama?" She looked at him with anticipation. She wished she could take back the question, but wanted the answer more than anything.

"I could tell you were special when I first saw you." He said matter-of-factly. "There was a lot going on, but when I saw you escaping from that ship that Alvida attacked, I said to myself, 'Luffy, you need to meet her.'" She was stunned. She could barely remember, but she had seen him too.

"You remembered that? I thought you didn't know." Luffy chuckled.

"Shishishi. Of course, I never forgot. When we were in Cocoyashi village, and I saw how sad you were, I decided that I was right. I will protect all my nakama, but you're special. I don't know why, but I want _you_ to be happy more than anything else." He spoke toward the sky, leaning back onto his hands and kicking his feet against the cabin wall. The innocence and naivety in his voice attested to the fact that he really didn't understand his own feelings.

Nami felt the blood instantly rush to her cheeks, and was glad that Luffy was not looking at her. She looked away from him, attempting to regain her composure. She felt butterflies rise up in her stomach, and turned back to him.

"Luffy…" She said seriously and soft. He turned his head as she was hoping he would, and as their eyes met in the rain, she leaned close to him and pressed her lips softly into his. She drew in a quick breath through her nose, and lingered for only a few moments. She held her umbrella in one hand over both of them as she pulled away slightly. She looked into his eyes as they sparkled with astonished wonder, and glistening drops of rainwater trickled off his black bangs.

"Cool…" He said softly, unable to gain enough breath for a sentence. Nami giggled at his lack of charm and sophistication.

"Luffy, you're special to me too. I want you to know that." She dropped her umbrella and threw her arms around his neck. This time, he leaned to her as well. Placing one hand on her hip, and one on her cheek, he pressed his lips into hers. Her lips parted allowing his tongue to touch hers gently as they deepened the kiss, losing themselves in passionate embrace.

They sat for awhile, talking and laughing, both soaked to the bone in the pouring rain. Her head on his shoulder, both kicking their legs as they dangled off over the deck below.

"Well, I should go to bed. It's pretty late already, and we should arrive at the next island sometime tomorrow morning." Luffy jumped down and turned to help her climb off as well. He looked at her excitedly.

"Oooh! Really, what kinda island? I hope it's one with lots of adventure!" He turned and leaned against the railing, looking out over the sea with his usual innocent excitement.

"Um, I think I'll leave the adventuring to you. Don't think you'll get any more money from me though. You still owe me Luffy." She smiled and kissed him good night before walking back down to through the galley, leaving Luffy standing in the rain by himself. She felt relieved as she laid herself down to bed. Finally, she could dream of the future, and not the past.


End file.
